1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to hoists and more particularly to portable knockdown trolley hoists.
2. Background Art
Lifting and moving cargo and various objects by hand is considered to be one of the most significant sources of on the job injury in occupations requiring manual labor and transportation and delivery of cargo from one location to another. Such tasks also become particularly difficult to those not performing such activities routinely and on a day-to-day basis. Cargo and objects typically have to be transported, moved, loaded, and unloaded from one location to another safely, quickly, easily, and efficiently.
A hoist is necessary that overcomes the difficulties presented to those individuals lifting and moving cargo and various objects, and makes such activities easy, safe and secure, whether performed occasionally or on a day-to-day basis. The hoist should be portable, capable of being used in a variety of situations and configurations, in the field, on or off vehicles, or in permanent or semi permanent installations on or off the vehicles. A minimum of training should be required to use, operate, assemble, disassemble, and repair the hoist.
The hoist should have an extension boom, which allows the user to maneuver cargo and other objects at a variety of distances, and be maneuverable substantially collinearly with the extension boom and transverse to the extension boom. The extension boom should preferably be a telescoping extension boom.
The hoist should have a plurality of load bearing surfaces, such as roller bearings, that allow the extension boom to be maneuvered into and out of different locations. Such load bearing surfaces should allow the extension boom to be maneuvered with a minimum of friction of moving parts of the hoist, while maintaining structural integrity of the hoist and maneuverability of the load to be lifted and moved.
The hoist should preferably have a moveable trolley that has a plurality of upper and lower load bearing roller bearings to facilitate moving a variety of different loads with a minimum of friction of moving parts, and optional side roller bearings for further minimizing such friction.
The hoist should be of knockdown construction and capable of being stored and/or transported in knockdown form, allow the user to store the hoist in a small volume, and be capable of being assembled and disassembled quickly, easily, and efficiently, while being of such design and construction to facilitate quick and easy replacement of parts, should such replacement of parts become necessary. Replacement parts should be capable of being used and/or fabricated from standard off-the-shelf hardware.
The hoist should be capable of use on or within and in combination with a large variety and types of vehicles in a variety of configurations, and maneuvering cargo and objects into and out of various locations, while maintaining load balance, and performing with a minimum of friction and imbalance of moving parts of the hoist.
The hoist should allow an individual to move, load, unload, and transport cargo and other objects occasionally and/or routinely in a safe and efficient manner. The hoist should be portable, of knockdown construction, and allow a user to transport the hoist to be used in a large variety of situations and be transported to and from various locations quickly, easily, and conveniently. The hoist should also be capable of being used on a variety of terrains.
The portable knockdown trolley hoist should be capable of being used in combination with a vehicle or different vehicles and in the field on or off the vehicle, and for different applications requiring portability and storage.
The hoist should be of sturdy construction, capable of being assembled, disassembled, and repaired quickly and easily in the field with simple and easily available tools. The hoist should be durable, and long lasting, and allow the user to lift and maneuver a large variety of weights and sizes of cargo and objects.
Different hoists, lifting devices, and the like have heretofore been known. However, none of the hoists, lifting devices, and the like adequately satisfies these aforementioned needs.                U.S. Pat. No. 7,011,486 (Dyer) discloses a collapsible, portable hoist that can be assembled and operated by a single individual, for lifting and conveying heavy objects onto and off of trucks, especially pickup trucks. When not in use, the hoist collapses down to a flat storage configuration that rests on, and is secured to, the truck's cargo walls, without extending beyond the truck. In order to deploy the hoist, a user rotates its support frame up from the stowed position, and then suspends from it the rail along which a trolley or other implement used to convey the object will travel. When the hoist is fully deployed, the trolley rail is mounted high above the bed, permitting tall objects to be manipulated. The hoist is constructed, so as to be removable from the truck.        U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,926 (Johnson) discloses a pickup loading hoist for loading and unloading heavy cargo to and from a bed of a pickup, which can be disassembled into a compact storage position. The device includes a front frame and a rear frame vertically aligned parallel to one another and removably attachable to the bed of the pickup, an I-beam secured to the front and rear frames and extending a finite distance beyond the rear frame, a sliding member attached to the I-beam, and a winch for manipulating a chain with a hook.        U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,147 (Kucharczyk, et al.) a hoist apparatus for cargo compartment, for use in transferring goods into and from a cargo compartment of a vehicle, trailer, container or the like. The hoist apparatus has a first frame having a pair of opposite side members extending in a first horizontal direction, the I-beams each having a vertical web and horizontal upper and lower flanges. The first frame is supported on rollers beneath the roof of the cargo compartment, so as to allow displacement of the first frame in the first horizontal direction between a first, retracted position, in which the first frame is accommodated within the cargo compartment, and a second, extended position, in which the first frame protrudes from the cargo compartment. A second frame or bridge extends horizontally between the opposite side members of the first frame and is supported on rollers on the first frame for movement along the side members. The second frame has a pair of opposite side members extending transversely to the first horizontal direction, and a hoist carriage is mounted on the second frame, for movement along the side members thereof. At least a major portion of the depths of the second frame and of the hoist carriage are located above the underside of the first frame, so as to counteract obstruction of the headroom within the compartment.        U.S. Pat. No. 6,886,811 (Springett, et al.) discloses a portable dynamometer station with a vehicle mounted lifting assembly, which comprises (a) a vehicle, such as a bus, for transporting the dynamometer, (b) a dynamometer with associated monitoring equipment, and (c) a lifting assembly mounted in the vehicle, for transporting the dynamometer from the vehicle to the ground. The lifting assembly includes (i) an upper support beam, (ii) a lower support beam, (iii) a moving trolley on the lower support beam, (iv) a first hydraulic cylinder for moving the lower support beam and the trolley relative to the upper support beam, (v) a second hydraulic cylinder for raising and lowering the dynamometer or other load from the moving trolley, and (vi) a series of pulleys and cables for movement of the lower support beam, the moving trolley, and the dynamometer or other load.        U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,970 (Sunderland) discloses a collapsible hoist for a truck bed, the truck having frame members that are pivotally moveable and slidably connected to one another, such that the apparatus can be assembled and disassembled by a one person, and placed in a transporting position along the edges of the truck bed, thereby occupying a portion of the load carrying space of the truck.        U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,782 (Sandrock) a self-loading article transport vehicle that includes a load carrying bed, a collapsible frame mounted on the vehicle in a substantially upstanding loading disposition above the bed, a load transfer apparatus mounted on the frame, for loading articles onto the bed and for unloading articles therefrom, and wherein the frame is lowerable to a position restraining movement of the articles on the bed.        U.S. Pat. No. 4,187,048 (Bohlmann) discloses a loading and unloading apparatus for a van of a type including a framework within the van for slidably supporting a beam. A winch is moveably disposed on the beam, for allowing an object to be loaded and hoisted upwardly, when the beam and hoist extend outside of the van; and, then the object can be moved into the van by movement of the beam into the van and movement of the winch and object along the beam in the same direction. Once the object is properly positioned within the van, the object can be lowered to the floor of the van for support. Upon reaching the destination for the object, the winch is again used to raise the object off of the floor, whereupon the object is manually pushed out of the van, causing movement of the beam and movement of the winch along the beam. Once the object is outside the van, the object can then be lowered to the ground, by further use of the winch.        U.S. Pat. No. 6,082,561 (Bembas) discloses a portable jib crane for panel trucks or vans, wherein the crane pivots along a common axis between opposing fixed bearing mounts. In practice, one attaches a lifting apparatus to a trolley of the jib. A payload is hoisted off the floor of the vehicle, and after pulling a locking pin, the jib/mast is manually rotated, until the payload is clear of the vehicle. The payload is then lowered to the ground.        U.S. Pat. No. 3,572,513 (Tantlinger, et al.) discloses a trolley crane apparatus, in which a generally rectangular support framework is mounted for movement along a pair of fixed spaced parallel tracks. The framework comprises two interconnected portions each of which is of generally U-shaped configuration and includes a long and a short leg, the long leg of one of the framework portions being detachably connected with the short leg of the other of the framework portions. An elongated trolley support is mounted on the support framework for movement laterally with respect thereto. A trolley means is mounted for movement longitudinally along the trolley support.        U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,702 (Gunderson) discloses a method and apparatus for a hoist system for a vehicle, in which the hoist system includes a support frame mounted to the vehicle. A slidably extendable pair of parallel rails is mounted to the support frame, and the front ends and the tail ends of the parallel rails can be connected. A crossbeam that supports a hoist mechanism is slidably suspended from the pair of rails, and the support frame can be collapsibly hinged for transport. The support frame is mounted to the vehicle at a height above the cab of the vehicle or alternatively incorporated into the ladder rack of the vehicle. The hoist system and can transfer swinging or shifting loads, and has an extended and side-to-side reach.        U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,440 (James) discloses a retractable load lifting and moving apparatus particularly adapted for use on motor vehicles, and for transferring a load into and out of the bed or load receiving space of a pickup truck or other cargo hauling vehicle. The apparatus employs a base structure mountable on the vehicle, a horizontal boom structure carried by the base structure, a winch structure carried by the boom structure adjacent the distal extremity of the latter, and selectively actuatable mechanisms associated with the base structure and respectively coupled with the boom and winch structures, for operating the latter independently to accomplish vertical lifting or lowering and horizontal movement in either direction of a load during emplacement or removal of same relative to the load receiving space along a path having limited clearance as compared with the size of the load.        U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,253 (McNett) discloses a vehicle mounted pivoting hoist, in which a mounted, elevatable, lightweight pivotal boom is provided, which defines an elongate internal track that defines a downwardly facing slot. An electromechanical winch mechanism is provided for lifting and handling objects, such as the windshield of an automotive vehicle, and which includes roller supports having rollers that are received by the internal track of the boom. The winch mechanism includes a DC motor, which is provided with a detachable control circuit to provide for selective operation. The horizontal, pivotal boom is supported by fixed and movable telescoping standards, and may be elevated manually or by means of a jack mechanism, such as a manual or powered operable mechanical, hydraulic or electrical jack.        U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,853 (Lyvers) discloses an apparatus for loading and unloading a vehicle, comprising a supporting frame having a pair of parallel spaced horizontally extending elongated tracks supported near the ends thereof by upstanding legs and elongated cross members operatively secured to the tracks adjacent the upper ends of the legs, thereby defining a loading space within the frame. A hoist carrier is mounted on the tracks for movement longitudinally thereof. The carrier lies substantially within the plane of the tracks near the top of the space. A hoist boom is pivotally mounted on the carrier adjacent one of the tracks, the boom extending horizontally beneath the carrier and being swingable across the space between the tracks. The boom is also movable with the carrier longitudinally of the frame.        U.S. Pat. No. 4,297,071 (Dunbar) discloses a weight transfer apparatus for a weight handling vehicle having a rear cargo compartment with a bed and side walls. A frame adjacent the sidewalls supports a carriage that moves horizontally along the top of the frame and telescopes out the rearward end of the vehicle. A trolley, supporting a hoist for lifting the weight units, moves on the carriage, and when used in tandem with the telescoping carriage, transfers weight units from within the rear cargo compartment to a point exterior of and spaced apart from the rearward end of the cargo compartment.        U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,198 (Buhr) discloses a collapsible full reach truck bed hoist that includes a pair of elongated tracks adapted for securement onto the truck bed in parallel spaced apart relation. An inverted U-shaped hoist frame has opposite depending legs connected to trolley structures, which are supported on the tracks for longitudinal movement therealong. A hoist is supported on the top crossbar of the hoist frame, with freedom of movement along the top crossbar transversely of the truck bed. The hoist frame is collapsible from an upright working position to a lowered transport position, and the tracks, upon which the hoist frame rides, are extendable outwardly of the truck bed, for supporting the hoist frame above an object on the ground adjacent the truck bed.        U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,762 (Kennard, Jr., et al.) discloses a collapsible boom and derrick hoist assembly, including a base frame securable to the side rails of a conventional pickup truck. A collapsible A-frame supports a foldable, two-piece boom assembly. A boom swing mechanism includes a gear driven arrangement, for rotating the boom or yawing the boom about its vertical axis. A boom elevating mechanism including a winch, cable, and a pivotally supported pulley permits elevation of the erected two-piece boom, with the elevation angle remaining constant as the boom swings about its vertical axis. An A-frame erection subassembly including a strut arrangement, for obtaining a mechanical advantage, is provided along with a boom erection and winching cable arrangement. A plurality of screw jacks are pivotally connected to side members of the base frame, and serve to support the derrick hoist assembly and stabilize the assembly during operation.        U.S. Pat. No. 3,072,271 (Costello) discloses a vehicle mounted hoist; U.S. Pat. No. 2,428,144 (Clough) discloses loading means for trucks; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,927,704 (Condon) discloses a hydraulic device for use with transportation vehicles.        U.S. Pat. No. 3,006,486 (Cook, et al.) discloses a material handling system for freight vehicles; U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,864 (Amato) discloses a boom hoist for attachment to a trailer hitch drawbar; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,238,280 (Christensen) discloses a utility rack with enhanced rails.        U.S. Pat. No. 2,773,606 (Shepherd) discloses a tree moving apparatus; U.S. Pat. No. 2,504,232 (Smith) discloses a self-loading apparatus for motor trucks; U.S. Pat. No. 2,289,366 (Johnson) discloses a crane for attachment to motor vehicles; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,334,480 (Wallace) discloses gantries.        U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,430 (Roby, et al.) discloses a rail mounted safety restraint device that is adapted to be mounted on a rail of a railway track, and includes a substantially U-shaped hood, having a pair of hinged hood sections, each supporting upper and lower rollers for engagement respectively with upper and lower surfaces of the ball of the rail. The upper rollers are adjustable, for accommodating different rail weights, the rollers are located wholly within the hood, and the hinged hood sections permit assembly to and removal from the rail.        U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,301 (Walerowski) discloses a crane trolley with a hoist, in which a crane trolley is movable by means of rollers on the lower flange of a runway girder, the crane trolley having a hoist, the latter being inserted in one of the two sides plates of the crane trolley. The load chain of the hoist is guided by means of guide rollers. The chain is fastened with one end to the crane trolley, and is driven by the load chain wheel of the hoist, and carries the lower block with the load hook. The hoist is arranged off-set in the longitudinal direction of the crane trolley relative to the lower block, and the load chain is guided over two additional guide rollers in S-shape between the load chain wheel of the hoist and the pulling chain portion of the lower block.        U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,105 (Jaggard) discloses deployment mechanisms for aircraft auxiliary airfoils, in which a deployment mechanism for moving an aircraft wing leading edge slat or trailing edge flap relative to a main airfoil is provided. The mechanism includes an I-section support beam extending between the main airfoil and the slat or flap. The support beam is driven into and out of the main airfoil by a rack and pinion mechanism, the rack being disposed along a lower boom of the beam, the beam being supported for rolling contact with the main airfoil by upper and lower straddle rollers positioned between wing leading edge ribs. Roller tracks extend along upper and lower booms of the beam, with at least one roller track co-extending with the rack adjacent thereto along the beam.        U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,016 (Scott) discloses a light rail and wheel carriage system that includes first and second rail assemblies held in spaced parallel disposition by a plurality of support members, and cooperating wheel carriage assemblies that mount rail cars onto the rail assemblies. Each rail assembly includes upper and lower elongate tubular rail members, vertically spaced by a vertical flange. In a preferred embodiment, each rail member has a circular configuration, and is bifurcated internally by a received longitudinal edge of the vertical flange. Each wheel carriage assembly includes a carriage frame, first and second elongate pivot shafts, a set of upper and lower rollers, and a compressible strut. In a preferred embodiment, a set of upper and lower rollers is pivotally secured to opposite ends of the first pivot shaft. A second set of upper and lower rollers is also pivotally secured to opposite ends of the second pivot shaft. The compressible strut interconnects the upper roller of the first pivot shaft to the lower roller of the second pivot shaft.        U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,970 (Matyas) discloses movable lading bracing stanchions for freight cars, which includes a movable stanchion for bracing freight in a transportation vehicle, such as a railroad car or the like. The stanchion is supported for movement along the length of the cargo area of the car by an overhead track. A locking device carried by the stanchion cooperates with the overhead track and a floor mounted track to lock the stanchion in preselected bracing positions. The stanchion has a bracing face that extends transversely to its direction of movement, and which is substantially less in the transverse direction than one-half of the width of the cargo area. The stanchion also has a device, which cooperates with the floor mounted track, so as to prevent pivotal movement in a transverse direction.        U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,091 (Cuny) discloses an antifall safety device that includes a safety device for mounting on a beam section, including a body, comprising two articulated portions having projections, which produce a wedging effect on the beam section, when under the pull of a load.        U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,346 (Gibson, et al.) discloses material handling apparatus, in which the fork carriage of a side-loader truck is journalled for rotation about a vertical axis between two arms, one above and one below the carriage, which transmit lateral load moments to a narrow vertical member. A vertically-extending torque shaft journalled on the vertical member carries gears on its opposite ends. The gears engage laterally-extending racks spaced widely vertically apart on a rearward carriage, so that lateral load moments apply minimum forces to the racks, and rotation of the torque shaft also serves to laterally position the vertical member and the fork carriage. The rearward carriage may comprise an elevatable, mast-guided laterally-fixed carriage, or an intermediate carriage may be interposed between the vertical member and the laterally-fixed carriage to provide greater lateral load extension. An intermediate carriage, having a roller arrangement insuring adequate support at any lateral load position, is shown. By mounting the truck load wheels on the ends of an axle member, a given truck design can be adapted for use in aisles of different widths, without changes to a heavy welded base frame of the truck.        
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a hoist that overcomes the difficulties presented to those individuals lifting and moving cargo and various objects, and makes such activities easy, safe and secure, whether performed occasionally or on a day to day basis. The hoist should be portable, capable of being used in a variety of situations and configurations, in the field, on or off vehicles, or in permanent or semi permanent installations on or off the vehicles. A minimum of training should be required to use, operate, assemble, disassemble, and repair the hoist.
The hoist should have an extension boom, which allows the user to maneuver cargo and other objects at a variety of distances, and be maneuverable substantially collinearly with the extension boom and transverse to the extension boom. The extension boom should preferably be a telescoping extension boom.
The hoist should have a plurality of load bearing surfaces, such as roller bearings, that allow the extension boom to be maneuvered into and out of different locations. Such load bearing surfaces should allow the extension boom to be maneuvered with a minimum of friction of moving parts of the hoist, while maintaining structural integrity of the hoist and maneuverability of the load to be lifted and moved.
The hoist should preferably have a moveable trolley that has a plurality of upper and lower load bearing roller bearings to facilitate moving a variety of different loads with a minimum of friction of moving parts, and optional side roller bearings for further minimizing such friction.
The hoist should be of knockdown construction and capable of being stored and/or transported in knockdown form, allow the user to store the hoist in a small volume, and be capable of being assembled and disassembled quickly, easily, and efficiently, while being of such design and construction to facilitate quick and easy replacement of parts, should such replacement of parts become necessary. Replacement parts should be capable of being used and/or fabricated from standard off-the-shelf hardware.
The hoist should be capable of use on or within and in combination with a large variety and types of vehicles in a variety of configurations, and maneuvering cargo and objects into and out of various locations, while maintaining load balance, and performing with a minimum of friction and imbalance of moving parts of the hoist.
The hoist should allow an individual to move, load, unload, and transport cargo and other objects occasionally and/or routinely in a safe and efficient manner. The hoist should be portable, of knockdown construction, and allow a user to transport the hoist to be used in a large variety of situations and be transported to and from various locations quickly, easily, and conveniently. The hoist should also be capable of being used on a variety of terrains.
The portable knockdown trolley hoist should be capable of being used in combination with a vehicle or different vehicles and in the field on or off the vehicle, and for different applications requiring portability and storage.
The hoist should be of sturdy construction, capable of being assembled, disassembled, and repaired quickly and easily in the field with simple and easily available tools. The hoist should be durable, and long lasting, and allow the user to lift and maneuver a large variety of weights and sizes of cargo and objects.